By Mike Collett LONDON (Reuters) - Dave Mackay, described by Tottenham Hotspur as one of their greatest ever players and the heartbeat of their Double-winning team of 1961, has died aged 80, the club has announced. The barrel-chested midfielder won 22 caps for Scotland and was a Footballer of the Year at home and in England, winning 10 major honours including three FA Cups with Spurs. He had a glittering playing career at Spurs, Hearts, where he won every domestic Scottish honour, and Derby County, where he later returned as manager and took them to the English League title in 1975. He also had stints managing Swindon Town, Walsall, Doncaster Rovers and Birmingham City as well as managing sides in Kuwait, Dubai and Egypt. More »

(Adding details, quotes, byline) By Mike Collett LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Dave Mackay, described by Tottenham Hotspur as one of their greatest ever players and the heartbeat of their Double-winning team of 1961, has died aged 80, the club has announced. The barrel-chested midfielder won 22 caps for Scotland and was a Footballer of the Year at home and in England, winning 10 major honours including three FA Cups with Spurs. He had a glittering playing career at Spurs, Hearts, where he won every domestic Scottish honour, and Derby County, where he later returned as manager and took them to the English League title in 1975. He also had stints managing Swindon Town, Walsall, Doncaster Rovers and Birmingham City as well as managing sides in Kuwait, Dubai and Egypt. More »

By Steve Slater LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays is expected to set aside more money for potential foreign exchange fines and to add to its compensation tab for UK customer mis-selling, eating into an expected slim rise in profits. Barclays last year set aside 500 million pounds to cover potential fines and litigation for foreign exchange manipulation, but Chief Executive Antony Jenkins has already said that will not be enough. Rivals including HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland last week put more aside for the issue and Barclays will more than double its provision in results due on Tuesday, Sky News has reported. Barclays pulled out of a settlement between U.S. and UK authorities and six banks in November because it had not reached a deal with New York's regulator, and it still wants to conclude most regulatory settlements together, sources have told Reuters. More »

England coach Stuart Lancaster has said he believes England can still win the Six Nations despite losing to Ireland. Fixtures against Scotland and France complete England's Six Nations campaign, and head coach Lancaster insists they are still capable of wrestling the crown from Irish hands. "Absolutely we can still win the Six Nations. There are very few Grand Slam teams," Lancaster said. More »

British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is ready to rule out a new coalition with the Conservatives over its plan to hold a European Union referendum, The Sun newspaper said on Saturday. Citing an unnamed source close to Clegg, the leader of junior coalition partner the Liberal Democrats, The Sun said he will not sign up to another deal after the May 7 general election if it includes a commitment to hold a referendum on EU membership. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to put Britain's continuing EU membership to a public vote by the end of 2017 if he wins the upcoming election. "This is pretty much a red line for Nick (Clegg)," an unnamed source close to the Deputy PM told The Sun. "There is no way he will sign up to the plans that will allow the Tories to set the terms of a renegotiation, carry it out and then hold a referendum that could see Britain leave the EU." This month Clegg warned that a British EU exit would force Scotland to break away from the rest of the UK. More »

By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland took a major step towards retaining their Six Nations title with a pulsating 19-9 victory over England on Sunday to become the only side to win their opening three games. With both sides unbeaten going into a game billed as a potential title decider, Johnny Sexton kicked the hosts into a first-half lead before an acrobatic Robbie Henshaw try sent Ireland travelling to Cardiff dreaming of a grand slam. Ireland, who equalled their longest ever winning stretch with a 10th successive victory, play Wales in Cardiff on March 14 before facing Scotland at Murrayfield a week later. "After seeing them against Wales, we knew they were going to come back at us in the second half, but we dug deep and managed to keep them off our line," Ireland coach Joe Schmidt told the BBC. More »

Italian captain Sergio Parisse said his team?s dramatic last minute 22-19 victory against Scotland at Murrayfield answered the critics who have questioned the Azzurri?s place in the Six Nations championship. More »

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and chose to bat in their World Cup Pool A clash at Wellington Regional Stadium on Sunday. England were unchanged from their 119-run victory over Scotland in Christchurch, giving Gary Ballance another chance to prove his credentials after scoring 30 runs in three innings at the tournament. Opening bowler James Anderson has also been expensive and captured just two wickets so far, against Scotland. ... More »

WELLINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and chose to bat in their World Cup Pool A clash at Wellington Regional Stadium on Sunday. England were unchanged from their 119-run victory over Scotland in Christchurch, giving Gary Ballance another chance to prove his credentials after scoring 30 runs in three innings at the tournament. Opening bowler James Anderson has also been expensive and captured just two wickets so far, against Scotland. ... More »

By Julien Pretot PARIS (Reuters) - France coach Philippe Saint-Andre admitted that Les Bleus were "not a great team" after their 20-13 home defeat by Wales in the Six Nations on Saturday. France looked convincing in November as they beat Australia at the Stade de France before narrowly losing to Argentina but they were short of ideas against the Welsh. France's fourth defeat in a row against Wales came after a hard-fought win over Scotland and loss to champions Ireland. "I'm not going to say we are a great team," Saint-Andre told a news conference. More »

England are looking at their return to Wellington for Sunday's World Cup clash with Sri Lanka as a chance to put their last visit to the New Zealand capital behind them, all-rounder Chris Woakes said on Saturday. England were humiliated by co-hosts New Zealand in the Pool A encounter at the Wellington Regional Stadium last week, crumbling to an eight wicket defeat after Black Cap seamer Tim Southee had taken seven for 33. "We obviously didn't get a total on the board, and Tim Southee bowled exceptionally well, as well. "I think it's a good opportunity for us to put that completely behind us and show people what we can do and put in a solid performance." With the defeat to New Zealand added to a slightly less embarrassing loss to the other co-hosts Australia, England have only a victory over minnows Scotland to show for their efforts at the tournament so far. More »

England are looking at their return to Wellington for Sunday's World Cup clash with Sri Lanka as a chance to put their last visit to the New Zealand capital behind them, all-rounder Chris Woakes said on Saturday. England were humiliated by co-hosts New Zealand in the Pool A encounter at the Wellington Regional Stadium last week, crumbling to an eight wicket defeat after Black Cap seamer Tim Southee had taken seven for 33. "We obviously didn't get a total on the board, and Tim Southee bowled exceptionally well, as well. "I think it's a good opportunity for us to put that completely behind us and show people what we can do and put in a solid performance." With the defeat to New Zealand added to a slightly less embarrassing loss to the other co-hosts Australia, England have only a victory over minnows Scotland to show for their efforts at the tournament so far. More »

Scotland coach Vern Cotter has no qualms about pitting stand-in outside-half Peter Horne against Italy's heavyweight Kelly Haimona in Saturday's Murrayfield encounter between the Six Nations' two win-less sides. More »

By John Mehaffey AUCKLAND (Reuters) - Australia captain Michael Clarke, returning to lead his country again after an injury layoff, had no hesitation in opting to bat after winning the toss in the World Cup match against New Zealand on Saturday. Fast bowler Pat Cummins replaced Josh Hazelwood in the Australian side to further strengthen their impressive pace attack while their tournament co-hosts New Zealand named an unchanged side. The Australians, who have won 11 of their 16 one-day matches against New Zealand at Eden Park, trail the home side in the Pool A standings after their game against Bangladesh was rained off following a decisive victory over England. New Zealand have beaten Sri Lanka, Scotland and England and were full of confidence before Saturday's match after showing consistent form in both the one-day and the test arenas over the past 18 months. More »

By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Bank of Ireland Chief Executive Richie Boucher said he had made mistakes in the run-up to the Irish banking crisis and will take full responsibility for them when he appears before a parliamentary inquiry. Parliament is holding the public inquiry into the crisis seven years after the near-collapse of the banking sector, with many voters frustrated that bank executives, regulators and politicians have not been held accountable. Bank of Ireland received 4.8 billion euros, though it has since returned more than that amount to the state. Boucher, who was head of Bank of Ireland's retail division before becoming CEO six years ago, has been asked to appear before the inquiry alongside former colleagues Richard Burrows and Brian Goggin and former executives from Allied Irish Banks and Royal Bank of Scotland's Ulster Bank unit. More »

Brian McClair was named Scottish Football Association's performance director on Friday, reuniting him with former Manchester United team mate and current Scotland manager Gordon Strachan. The 51-year-old will leave United in May after a 25-year career at Old Trafford, where he was a player, youth coach and director of the youth academy. Strachan, who played alongside McClair at United in the late 1980s, and previous national coaches Walter Smith and Andy Roxburgh were involved in the recruitment process. McClair made 471 appearances for Manchester United between 1987 and 1998, scoring 127 goals and winning four Premier League titles. More »

By Kylie MacLellan LONDON (Reuters) - Britain set out plans on Friday to give Wales greater powers, including to issue bonds and control fracking licences, in a further step to dismantle its centralised system of government. With just over two months until a national election, the issue of devolution to the United Kingdom's constituent parts has risen to the fore after a last-ditch promise to hand more powers to Scotland helped swing a close referendum in September. "We are delivering on devolution in every part of the UK," Prime Minister David Cameron said on Friday. Wales, like Scotland and Northern Ireland, elects representatives for its own regional body as well as for the Westminster parliament. More »

Coutts, known as the Queen's bank, is being investigated by German authorities on alleged aiding of client tax evasion. The bank, which is owned by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and exclusively open only to those of significant financial means, said the inquiry was focussed on its Swiss operation. It was concentrated on not only the wealth arm itself but also current and former employees, RBS said. The news came to light just hours after RBS announced its full-year results and two days after Sky News revealed that Rory Tapner, one of the company's most senior bankers, was to leave Coutts as its parent sought to sell off its international operations . More »

By Matt Scuffham LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will shrink investment banking operations drastically, pulling out of 25 countries across Europe, Asia and the Middle East and allowing the state-controlled lender to refocus on lending in Britain. RBS is seven years into an unprecedented corporate diet, shedding more than 1 trillion pounds ($1.54 trillion) in assets as it retreats from the acquisitions that once made it the largest bank in the world and an enormous financial burden for British taxpayers when the credit bubble burst in 2008. The bank reported a 2014 loss of 3.5 billion pounds on Thursday, hit by a writedown on the value of its U.S. business Citizens and new charges relating to foreign exchange investigations and mis-selling. RBS, 79 percent owned by the British government, remains hampered by a number of investigations into past misconduct, which threaten to undermine its turnaround under Chief Executive Ross McEwan. More »

Scotland's misery over their one-wicket loss to Afghanistan at the World Cup was compounded on Friday when they were fined for a slow over rate, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced. More »

By Matt Scuffham LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will shrink investment banking operations drastically, pulling out of 25 countries across Europe, Asia and the Middle East and allowing the state-controlled lender to refocus on lending in Britain. RBS is seven years into an unprecedented corporate diet, shedding more than 1 trillion pounds ($1.54 trillion) in assets as it retreats from the acquisitions that once made it the largest bank in the world and an enormous financial burden for British taxpayers when the credit bubble burst in 2008. The bank reported a 2014 loss of 3.5 billion pounds on Thursday, hit by a writedown on the value of its U.S. business Citizens and new charges relating to foreign exchange investigations and mis-selling. RBS, 79 percent owned by the British government, remains hampered by a number of investigations into past misconduct, which threaten to undermine its turnaround under Chief Executive Ross McEwan. More »

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline said on Thursday that its chairman-designate Philip Hampton would take charge of Britain's biggest drugmaker from May 7, an earlier transition than initially anticipated. Hampton, who chairs Royal Bank of Scotland , was named as the pharmaceutical company's next chairman last September, but GSK said at the time he might not take up the position until Sept. 1, 2015, if he could not be released from other commitments. In the event, Hampton is now able to take over with effect from the drugmaker's next annual meeting, following the appointment of Howard Davies as his successor at RBS. Hampton is taking over at a testing time. More »

By Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Ecstatic Afghans danced in the streets and fired rifles into the air on Thursday to celebrate their national cricket team's first win in their maiden World Cup, a much-needed piece of good news for the country mired in war with Taliban insurgents. Six people were injured in celebratory gunfire. In the capital, Kabul, dozens of jubilant Afghans gathered near the cricket stadium after Afghanistan beat Scotland in dramatic one-wicket win in their Pool A clash. "Today is one the happiest days in my life to see our heroes win their first World Cup match," Ahmad Yaseen, a 19-year-old boy said while others shouted “Long live Afghanistan". More »

Newcomers Afghanistan have had their first ever win in a cricket World Cup, beating Scotland by one wicket with just three balls to spare. Afghanistan had looked set for a heavy defeat after their middle order collapsed, leaving them on 97 for seven, chasing Scotland's 210 all out. But then Afghan hero Samiullah Shenwari stepped up and almost single-handedly kept his country's hopes alive, eventually reaching 96 runs to set up the dramatic finale. After Shenwari fell, Afghanistan were still 19 runs short, but a last-wicket stand between Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran got Afghanistan over the line with three balls to spare, Zadran hitting the winning boundary off Iain Wardlaw, sparking wild celebrations. More »

LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said on Thursday German prosecutors are looking at whether its private bank in Switzerland helped some clients evade tax. "A prosecuting authority in Germany is undertaking an investigation into Coutts & Co Ltd in Switzerland, and current and former employees, for alleged aiding and abetting of tax evasion by certain Coutts & Co Ltd clients," RBS said in its annual report. "Coutts & Co Ltd is cooperating with the authority." (Reporting by Matt Scuffham in London and Joshua Franklin in Zurich) More »